Stuart King: Jim Ervin will turn it around at Ballymena United - but hopefully after Saturday's clash with Carrick Rangers

Ervin spent the past two seasons as a player at Carrick under the leadership of King before retiring this summer to take up the vacant Ballymena position which was left by David Jeffrey.

The 38-year-old has endured a torrid time at the beginning of this campaign with the Showgrounds outfit sitting bottom of the league table without a point after six matches while they were also eliminated from the County Antrim Shield on Tuesday evening by Championship basement boys Knockbreda.

King will be looking to get the better of his former defender and extend Carrick’s unbeaten run to four across competitions but has confidence Ervin is the right man for the job.

"It's a massive opportunity for him to manage a big club and I have no doubt he will do really well,” he said. “He's had a tough start but he has had a run of tough games.

"He is a brilliant fella and will work really hard to find the answers.

"I'm sure he's knocking his pan in to find answers and I have absolutely no doubt he will do in the end.

"He knows everything about the Irish League, knows every player inside out, has been in changing rooms and is a winner himself, so I have no doubt that he will turn it around – hopefully after Saturday!"

King has had to bounce back from his own low moments this season, most notably after watching the ‘Gers lose 9-0 to Crusaders last month.

They responded by picking up a point at Windsor Park against Linfield before beating Dungannon Swifts and Cliftonville (County Antrim Shield) as the 42-year-old opted to deploy three strikers to great effect with summer recruit Danny Purkis netting three times across those positive results.

"My boys have gave me everything and I've been here for three years,” added King. “I've been a manager for 10 years after a long spell at Banbridge so I'm not a rookie anymore.

"I'm an experienced manager and I want people to be proud of the team.

"I give absolutely everything and that's what I expect from everybody who works for me, as a player or staff.

"It's all credit to the players because they've been phenomenal over the last few weeks. The performance levels have been top drawer and we're a really tight group.

"The result hurt everybody and they are now getting the plaudits again, but we have to stay humble because football can change very quickly and it has done for us.

"It might change the other way very quickly so we need to work hard and grind out as many results as we can.

"We've gradually improved and since I've been manager we've added a bit every year.

"The squad is probably the best it has been since I've known Carrick in the past 20 years - I think it's really strong.

"We're all heading in the right direction and hopefully we can keep doing that."